Embers Ad Infinitum

Bai Chen believed in the Hunter’s Guild’s credibility in this regard and didn’t question it. She directly asked, “Where was he?”

“Antanna Street.” Friedrich said a name.

Bai Chen was no stranger to this. Antanna Street was synonymous with the black market in First City.

It and its surrounding streets hid countless wanted criminals, illegal clinics, smugglers, slave traders, desperadoes, and gang members. First City had a saying: “Over there, you can buy any contraband as long as you have enough money.”

Although this was exaggerated, it was enough to indicate the characteristics of Antanna.

For a gang like the Blackshirts, they had a second boss who was in charge of Antanna’s business. His status was higher than Terrence’s in the organization.

Upon seeing Bai Chen and Long Yuehong silent, Friedrich added, “A Ruin Hunter went to Antanna Street to get a single-person rocket launcher and ended up encountering him. If the portrait you gave me is right, it should be him. At least the color of his eyes is memorable—it’s very similar to some snakes.”

“I’m just wondering why he’s in Antanna Street,” Bai Chen replied.

Friedrich shrugged and chuckled. “Everyone has a reason for being at Antanna Street.”

This was the famous saying credited to First City’s former Chief Hunter.

“I believe in the guild’s credibility. We will pay the Ruin Hunter.” Bai Chen had never had the habit of being excessively garrulous.

As Friedrich nodded slightly, he glanced at Bai Chen and Long Yuehong.

He laughed. “Where’s your robot? It didn’t follow you this time?”

He smiled meaningfully as if he had guessed something.

This… By not getting Old Ge to follow us, it will arouse the suspicion of those who have seen us before? Fortunately, Father’s death is a good thing for First City. The officials won’t carry out intense investigations… Long Yuehong was momentarily speechless.

Bai Chen calmly said, “We’re a large team. It has other things to do.”

She deliberately used ‘it’ in the Red River language.

“The information you registered indicates…” Friedrich stopped short.

Bai Chen glanced at him. “There’s not much real information on it. Maybe we have a hundred-odd people behind us, or even a thousand.”

She was telling the truth. Pangu Biology was the Old Task Force’s strong backer.

Friedrich smiled casually. “In the past two days, teams with robots have been questioned. You can also fill in a form so that we can explain to the Hand of Order. Heh heh, I think there’s a saying among Ashlandics that makes sense. People have to bow their heads when under the eaves of others.”

As Qian Bai and Gu Zhiyong opposite him were Ashlandic, Friedrich didn’t use a similar Red River proverb—’a jackal by a lion’s side can only serve it.’

He casually handed over two forms. On them were questions like name, age, the number of members in the team, the purpose of coming to First City, where they lived, where they had been, and what they had done in the past few days.

When it came to providing fake information, everyone in the Old Task Force had undergone professional training.

Long Yuehong watched Bai Chen fill in the form as he filled his. He almost indicated that he was a woman.

When she wrote down the number of team members, Bai Chen’s pen flew. After October Xue and Zhang Qubing were the names of Lei Yunsong, Wang Beicheng, Lin Feifei, and others.

It was obvious that it was a large Ruin Hunter team.

Long Yuehong held in his laughter and copied the answer seriously.

Bai Chen—who had written many names except Genava’s—briefly described the first few days according to the previous team discussion. This included but wasn’t limited to visiting City Hall to complete the manor’s settlement and visiting the injured who they had previously treated.

This was actually something they had done, but they had deliberately made the exact timeline vague, making the team’s schedule appear packed. It was obvious that they had no time to deal with the real Father.

Friedrich took their forms and casually scanned through them. His mouth suddenly opened, and he almost couldn’t close it.

“You guys earned a manor in just a few days of entering the city?” asked the slightly grizzled elder in surprise. He had also been a Ruin Hunter in the past and had done well. He was very capable, but he had never earned a manor so quickly from a short-term mission!

If such things happened two or three more times, he wouldn’t even need to take on his guild post in his advanced age. Of course, there was also a reason why he couldn’t stay idle.

“The employer is relatively generous, and the mission was very dangerous,” Bai Chen explained simply.

In any case, the matter regarding the Zhao family manor wasn’t handled by the Hunter’s Guild. She could say whatever she wanted.

Friedrich fell silent for a few seconds before laughing self-deprecatingly. “Why didn’t I encounter such a good employer when I was young?”

“Scare and shock him first, and things become easier.” Bai Chen sneered without a smile.

This made Long Yuehong suspect that Little White had also been infected by Shang Jianyao.

“Good idea.” Friedrich nodded and put away the two forms. “You can leave now.”

After leaving his office, Bai Chen thoughtfully said, “It seems like Han Wanghuo didn’t become a Ruin Hunter…”

Long Yuehong habitually wanted to ask why, but he understood Bai Chen’s judgment after some thought.

If Han Wanghuo was a Ruin Hunter, he definitely would’ve come to the guild’s lobby even if he didn’t form a team and acted as a loner. With his undisguised state, he wouldn’t have been discovered only by chance encounters at Antanna Street.

“Maybe he found another job?” Long Yuehong guessed.

Bai Chen nodded. “Maybe the job is around Antanna Street. We can go there later.”

Antanna Street was actually close to the pier, but it was further west than the Wolf’s Den, almost in the vicinity of the Factory Zone. The people coming and going there were from all walks of life, and the roads led in all directions. It was very suitable for escaping. If it really didn’t work out, one could jump into the Red River and gamble on their luck.

This section of the Red River Zone was seriously polluted. There were many mutated fish, and there was no lack of them that grew teeth and loved flesh. They were numerous and fearless. Once someone encountered them in the water, they would be doomed unless they had special abilities or the corresponding equipment.

…

In a narrow alley at the Green Olive Zone.

There were many houses on both sides of the street. Bamboo poles, wooden poles, and all kinds of clothes were being sunned. They blocked out the sunlight, making the environment appear rather gloomy.

After ending the questioning of the surrounding residents, Jiang Baimian sighed and said, “None of them saw Slumber Cat.”

They were now acting as a Ruin Hunter team that was searching for a mutated creature.

In order to obtain cooperation and not pay, Jiang Baimian deliberately described the Slumber Cat as very dangerous and capable of eating humans.

In a sense, she was right. The Slumber Cat’s actual danger exceeded her description.

Shang Jianyao nodded and said, “From the looks of it, the Ghost Cat happened to pass by on a stroll.”

He still wanted to use the name he came up with for the mutated creature.

Jiang Baimian didn’t refute Shang Jianyao’s guess and followed this train of thought. “Every animal has a relatively fixed area of activity. If it isn’t affected by external forces, it should wander around its territory. Let’s expand our range and search the surroundings and question people.”

Jiang Baimian implied that the Slumber Cat lived in Xiaochong’s room and that it shouldn’t be too far from here.

Of course, she made the judgment based on the habits of ordinary animals. Although Pangu Biology’s research showed that most mutated creatures followed this pattern, the differences brought about by Xiaochong could result in abnormal phenomena.

“Alright.” Shang Jianyao was rather enthusiastic.

The two of them—who had disguised themselves—expanded their search range. They stopped different passersby on the surrounding streets and knocked on different doors.

Unfortunately, it was daytime. Most people in the Green Olive Zone were busy, and there were very few targets they could ask.

As she walked, Jiang Baimian suddenly found the street familiar. She felt like she had been here—she had even measured and observed it before.

She looked around and found the scene in her memories. She smiled and said, “Aren’t we almost reaching Ugo Hotel?”

After circling around, they returned to an alley near Labe Street. This was also an area they had traversed several times when familiarizing themselves with the terrain.

“We can ask the boss. He might’ve seen it before,” Shang Jianyao said with great anticipation.

The Old Task Force members unanimously agreed that Boss Ugo wasn’t simple.

Jiang Baimian was just about to respond with a smile when her expression suddenly froze. She frowned and fell silent for a few seconds before saying, “I want to make a guess, but don’t be angry. I know that Xiaochong is your good friend. I’m not finding fault with him; I’m just making a guess based on the phenomenon and identity.”

Shang Jianyao smiled. “When have I ever been angry?”

He then became serious. “Speak.”

Jiang Baimian looked at Ugo Hotel and deliberated before saying, “Could the Heartless outbreak in these streets be related to Xiaochong?”

In her heart, Xiaochong was suspected to be the King of the Heartless!